The Jayson Werth-era in Philadelphia has been over for some time now, but the right fielder continues to speak about his former club as if he is a part of the team.
“I think Ben Francisco is a better player than people realize,” said Werth following Washington’s first official workout Tuesday.
I have no problem with Werth. He was a major piece with the Phillies and supplied the organization with many fond moments, but there comes a point when you have to forget the past and focus on the future.
Clearly, Werth doesn’t understand that concept.
In a time when he should be preparing physically (and mentally) for the upcoming season with the Nationals, Werth is voicing his opinion on who should start and replace him in right field.
“[Francisco’s] a good guy and he was a big part of that team and he did his job. He kept his mouth shut and he was a role player for them and for him to get a chance to play every day, I think that’s what it is all about. Domonic Brown is a great talent. Very few people bust into the big leagues and are successful, but he definitely has the talent to play,” said Werth.
According to Werth, the Phils should go with Francisco as the opening day starter. While I do not disagree with his statement seeing that I have been advocating the idea of Francisco starting for some time now, I do feel that Werth needs to keep his thoughts to 
himself.
I’m not sure how Washington fans are, but if I heard Cliff Lee openly speak about who he believes should replace him as the ace in Texas, or if Roy Oswalt did the same when he left Houston last season, I would be under the impression that a part of that player is missing his former organization, or worse, regretting his decision to join his new club.
But hey, can you blame Werth? He will be stuck with a losing organization for the remainder of his career while the Phillies will be competing for the World Series for the next couple of years.
Or—- Maybe some other reporter desiring some run asked him and he gave his opinion. What G, you think he went out of his way to give his opinion? Can’t wait for your article next week about how it’s not athletes fault if they’re just answering questions.
Werth has ” Signers regret”. Once you get past a certain amount of money, quality of life should be taken into account. If you say that 20 million dollars extra isn’t worth it, it sounds crazy initially. However, does his day to day life over the next 30 years differ between 100 and 120 million? probably not. Will his life experiences differ between the remainder of his career being in Philly vs DC, YOU BET!!!. It’s a shame that professional athletes are conditioned to simply go for the highest figure. Quality of life should be a consideration. With that I present to you Cliff Lee, he gets it.
yea screw him, he can come back and analyze when he’s done finishing in last place for the next 4 years
It should be fun and exciting playing for him to play in front of 14,000-16,000 fans in DC unless the Phils are in town.. He will look back and probably regret this move,but hard to turn that kind of $$ away.. His Family is taken care for life as are the next 5 Generations of Werth’s if they plan properly…
NAtionals have a scrappy teams and will compete for 4th place with the Mets & Marlins..
The man is allowed to give his opinion when asked. I thought this article was going to be more interested. Epic fail.
Seems like he was simply asked his opinion… *shrugs*
Also, some more of the Werth interview, and how he claimed the Phils could have had both him and Lee, as well.
Via Fanhouse:
“I think if (the front office) would have played it right they would have had us both,” Werth told the Philadelphia Daily News. “I mean, they traded Cliff away for prospects (after the 2009 season) and then realized that was probably not what they should have done.